Not your Typical Pokemon Fanfic
by BluePyre
Summary: My first submission to this site.    The prologue is now non-existent.
1. Chapter 1  Homecoming

The summit shrine was a sight to behold in the summer, for this was the only time of year it was free from it's otherwise constant mists. The trees that surrounded ancient stonework had leaves that shone like emeralds, even though they outdated it by centuries. On the steps of the old shrine sat a lone Ninetales, his dark silver-grey fur standing out quite pleasantly against the weather worn grey of the stone. He scanned the tops off the trees with his cobalt eyes as if something would fly out of them to greet him if he simply waited long enough.

_It won't be long now..._ the old fox though to himself, the sun starting to shaft through the trees behind him, _Won't be long at all._

Shortly after he made this prediction the Ninetales heard the beating of rotors, followed soon after by the tell-tale buffeting of a helicopter's winds. The thing hovered down towards the shrine, stopping roughly a story above the ground and turning so it's side faced the waiting fox. The Ninetales' eyes never left the machine, even despite the gale it was buffeting him him with, so he immediately could recognize it as the belonging to the human with whom his daughters had left with all those years ago. The side door opened, and sure enough the kid was standing there with his daughters standing on either side.

Immediately after sighting the silver fox the boy gave a smile and, in the reckless fashion the Ninetales remembered him for, dived out of the helicopter. While many would have considered this stunt stupid and unnecessary, it was in fact the fastest, safest, way for anyone to get down so long as they knew how to land it properly. The old fox of course knew this, and couldn't help but smile when the kid landed with several rolls forward, unharmed but a little dizzy. While the human tried to get his bearings, the Pokemon landed next to him and rushed to greet their father, only to be stopped by a psychic wall.

_Hold on, let me look you over first,_the old Ninetales instructed, causing his daughters to stand stock still.

The older of the two was now a Ninetales, and she looked almost exactly like her mother. She had her long cream fur, her ruby red eyes, and the same patch of long fluffy fur fur on her chest. There were only two differences: the long fur on top of her head that humans would describe as hair abnormally long like her father's, and she wore a FireStone as a pendant around her neck.

The younger sister wasn't actually related to her elder. In fact, she wasn't related to any of the Mt. Pyre Ninetales tribe, because she was a Lucario(although she was a Riolu when she left home). Despite her different species she was raised by the silver Ninetales and his mate, who had found her as an abandoned egg in the crypts that ran through the mountain. Due to some mutation during evolution, she lacked the signature Lucario paw and chest spikes. In their stead she had what could be described as forearm guards running from her wrists to just below her elbow and a crescent of the same material running just below her neck, around where the collarbone would be on a human.

_You two have grown up quite nicely,_ their father commented after he was finished, allowing his daughters to embrace him. The human smiled at this gesture before turning his attention to the still waiting helicopter.

"Go back to town!" He bellowed, his voice somehow cutting through the wind to reach the pilot, who brought the helicopter back over the treetops before heading back down the mountain. "There, now I can hear myself think again," the boy commented, turning to look at the Pokemon, who were still hugging. Figuring it would be a while before he would get a chance to talk to the father of his friends, he walked towards the trees and pretended to be interested with one of the plants.

_Its good to see you again, dad,_ the cream-furred fox said, nuzzling her father.

_I was just about to say the same thin- Oh!_ He broke the embrace to look at his daughters. _That's right, you two are to have new names now that you've changed!_

His daughters smiled at him, having already thought of new tribal names before coming back. _We've already decided on our new names, dad._

_Well then, do tell!_

_I'm to be known as Shieldpaw,_ The Lucario began, with the Ninetales finishing _And I'm Swiftblaze now._

The old Ninetales blinked. _Swiftblaze and Shieldpaw, eh?_ The sisters nodded, getting a smile from the silver fox. _I think they'll do wonderfully._ They embraced one more time before he looked over to were the human was studying a flower. _Joshua, get over here so I can get a good look at you!_

The boy, Josh, walked over, stopping a respectful distance away. _He sure has grown over the years,_ the Ninetales remarked to himself, which was true. _Then again, he was ten when I'd seen him last._ This was also true. Josh was now nineteen, and had grown like a weed. He was around 5' 4" with a thin build, placing him around 130 pounds in weight. He wore a yellow shirt, blue jeans, and a black jacket and shoes. He had deep blue eyes and was naturally a blond, but dyed his hair often. Right now it was blue.

_You seem to have sprouted up nicely,_ he finally said, getting a smile from the human. Getting mischievous an idea, the Ninetailes asked, _The girls tell me you haven't been treating them well. Is this true?_ smiling inwardly when Josh started to look a bit nervous.

"What do you mean?" Josh asked, his voice still level.

_Well, they tell me you've been doing..._ things, _to them._

"Y-you mean to say that I... d-defiled, them?" Josh was finding it harder to keep his voice in check.

_Exactly,_ the old Ninetales replied, his eye glinting, _and I'm sure you know what that means..._

"B-but I..." The Human began, trailing off when he realized it was pointless, then sighing. "Just make it quick..."

The silver fox looked at him with surprise. _What? No pleading?_ Josh shook his head. _Well, that isn't any fun._

"Fun..?" It took Josh a minute or two to realize he was being played, at which point he fell over backwards with relief, causing all present to laugh.

_Dad really had you going, Josh!_ Swiftblaze giggled, _You were as white as a sheet!_

"You would be too if you were in my shoes!" Josh sat up, placing his head around level with a Ninetales'.

_No hard feelings?_ The father asked of the Human.

"Just don't _ever_ scare me like that again. I really thought I was going to die for something I didn't do!"

_But it's_ fffuuuuuuuunnnn... The old fox whined, mimicking a child that was just told "no".

"Fun? I didn't think the mighty Silverfur had time for fun."

Silverfur grinned the way only those with muzzles can. _On the contrary, I've still got a few more centuries left in me._

#####

Roughly two later Silverfur led the others into a wide clearing with some obviously purposefully arranged boulders. In the center there were two smaller ones set so that a longer could rest over top of them, creating a small cave beneath. About halfway between that formation and the tree-line there was a ring of nine medium sized stones. The whole place had a majestic feel to it, but that could've been because of the full moon that was shining down on it.

_Here we are_, the silver fox said as he led his daughters towards the ring, inside of which many Ninetales and Vulpix were waiting. Josh stayed back by the trees, knowing full and well he wouldn't be welcome at the meeting. The cloud of foxes parted as Silverfur made his way towards rock pile, he was the tribal leader after all.

Taking his place at the top of the stones, Silverfur looked over his followers. Unlike what many people like to assume, not every Vulpix was red or gold, nor was every Ninetales cream or silver. They came in all sorts of colorings, black, light blue, all shades of orange, and even green(though the last green Ninetales to grace the tribe had died several centuries ago, mind you). The old silver Ninetales smiled with a sense of pride before inhaling deeply.

{Let this meeting of the Mt. Pyre tribe commence!}

Instant silence below.

{First, I must report the disappearance of Longflame and her kits, who were last seen down by the coast. If you find or hear anything that could help ensure their safe return report directly to me or my mate.}

Whispers amongst the tribe.

{Next, It is with a heavy heart that I must report the death of Whiteblaze. Lived nine and half centuries, he was the one we turned to for the wisdom of ages past. It is fitting that he passed in his sleep. May the gods give him paradise.}

Mournful silence for the death of the elder.

{However, I do have some joyful news for the tribe: Brushfire's and Smoketails' first eggs have hatched, bringing forth two healthy boys and a girl! Stand up and feel proud you two!}

The two new parents stood to be recognized and were received with cheers: It was not often more boys came from a litter than girls.

{Continuing with the good news: Curledflame, Goldenember and Sootpaw have all passed their rites and may venture into the world! Stand to be recognized!}

The trio of sisters stood to be recognized, receiving yips of encouragement from their fellow tribe members.

{Finally, I happy to say that my daughters have returned from their journey fully matured! Swiftblaze and Shieldpaw, it's your turn!}

The pride Silverfur had felt while looking over his tribe was nothing compared to this feeling. Seeing his girls fully matured from up, and knowing here was quite possibly the most joyful experience of his life. Too bad it only felt like a second had passed before they sat back down. The old fox had to force himself to clear his throat to close out the meeting.

{That is all I have in the way of announcements. Does anybody have something they would like to share?}

No response.

{Well then, it seems that this meeting is to come to a close. Go forth, and may your lives be happy.}

Only after the assembled started to clear out did Silverfur come back down, making a Beedrill's line straight to his family, smiling widely.

{Has your head deflated a bit, dear, or is it still swelled with pride?" His mate, Flameglow, asked with a nuzzle.

{What makes you think it was swelled?} The silver fox asked innocently.

{Oh come off it. You were smiling the entire time, and I thought you might've howled when it was time for the girls to stand.}

{Well, I didn't.}

{No, but you're still proud,} She nuzzled him again.

{I can't say that I'm not,} He replied looking at his girls.

{Thanks dad,} Shieldpaw replied, hugging her father again.

{So, got your eye on anyone?} Flameglow asked her daughters once the two broke apart.

{Huh?} they responded in unison.

{Well, having fully matured, you two can now pick mates,} their mother explained.

{Ooooh... I forgot about that,} Swiftblaze admitted before looking to her sister, who was looking at the ground withe her arms crossed shyly. {Looks like you didn't though... So, who is it?} Her sister simply looked her in the eyes, apparently sending the name via telepathy. {Oh, _him_...} The Ninetales started to blush lightly, {I can see why you like him.}

{Who?} Silverfur asked. Neither of the girls answered, getting thier mother to ask the same thing. Again, no response.

Looking at each other, their parents realized that they were going to have to force it out if they were to get an answer.


	2. Chapter 2  An Atypical Morning

It took quite a while before Flameglow and Silverfur got a name from the sisters, and deciding what to do about it took even longer. It was well past midnight when they finally decided that Silverfur would take a look into the person in question's character, and it was after that when the family remembered there was still a human waiting for them. Flameglow pointed out he could've gone back home while they were talking when they didn't find him immediately, but her daughters instantly shot that idea down.

{Then where is he?} Silverfur asked after fifteen minutes of not finding him by scent, {Because I don't smell him anywhere!}

Shieldpaw pointed to a nearby tree. {He's up there, on the far side, sleeping.}

{When did you intend on telling the rest of us?} Swiftblaze asked her sister.

{After you gave up or remembered that he wears odor neutralizing clothes and turned to the one with _aura sensing_ abilities.}

{Oh, right. Sorry...}

The Lucario smiled at her surrogate sister then quickly scaled the tree, jumping down with the human in her arms. Sure enough, he was out like a light.

{Eh, why'd you take him down?} Her sister asked as she set Josh down at the foot of the tree.

{He very well can't roll off the ground, now can he?} She replied, sitting down next to him her band-mate

{Good point.} The Ninetales agreed, laying so her head was near Josh's. {How do you think he fell asleep without us?}

{You mean to tell me he can't fall asleep without you two beside him?} Flameglow asked, part amused, part confused by this.

{No, he just has troubles if we aren't someplace nearby. We _have_ been traveling together for around nine years now,} Shieldpaw replied.

{So? Just traveling together doesn't do that to a guy,} Her father pointed out.

{It does if you've been sleeping in the same room or tent for that entire time.} Swiftblaze clarified, {Which brings us back to the question of "How did he find sleep?"}

{We could just ask him after he wakes up,} Her sister suggested.

{Good idea.} With that, the Ninetales splayed her tails over the three of them like a fluffy blanket.

{Do you normally sleep like that?} Silverfur asked, eyebrow raised.

{Only when its cold out.} Swiftblaze answered innocently.

{But it _isn't_ cold out.} Their mother pointed out, smiling slightly,

{Maybe not for a fire-type, but _I_ find it chilly, and _I've_ got fur.} Shieldpaw pointed first to herself, then to Josh. {_He_ doesn't.}

The elder foxes looked at their daughters, finding them lightly blushing, before looking to one another and apparently striking up a heated telepathic discussion after a few moments. First Silverfur looked confused, then Flameglow looked determined, causing the husband's expression to take a turn towards defensive, making his wife's become slightly aggressive, leading to an angry face from the dark-furred one, which in turn caused the light-furred to look disappointed, leading to a father looking concerned, which made a mother look hopeful, resulting in an defeated look on the blue eyed fox. Their two daughters watched this as one would watch a tennis match, their heads snapping from one side to the other as the silent argument played out, finally coming to a rest on the apparent loser.

{Well then,} Their mother finally began, sounding relived and slightly triumphant, {Just make sure you two don't over-exert him, or yourselves. I don't want to have to wake up and treat sore backs!} With that, she trotted off, her mate watching her leave while her daughters gaped at what she had implied.

{Don't mind her,} Silverfur finally said, looking at his still blushing kin, {She's just trying to say she'll approve of whoever you end up choosing. Just remember I'm going coming to scope out your picks tomorrow, I want to know if they're good enough for you.} He sat there a moment, trying to think of something else to say before giving up and following his mate back to their den.

{Uh...} Shieldpaw began, not sure how to break the awkwardness her mother initiated.

{Yeah...} Swiftblaze was in the same boat as her sister, blushing and bewildered.

{Wanna just..?}

{Pretend that never happened...?}

The sisters looked at each other for a minute longer before nodding and settling down for the night, both wondering just what doing the implied deed would be like.

#####

Josh awoke as the sun was peaking between the tree trunks uphill, and came to realize something was different from when he fell asleep. He felt hot, much hotter than his jacket would make him. He slowly opened his eyes to take in his surroundings, thankful for the dim light of dawn. After about a minute of looking at the tree above him(making it apparent he was on the ground) before he looked down to see he was covered in what seemed to be a fluffy blanket of fur. Grateful for the extra cover he tried to snuggle down further into it's warmth.

Thats when Josh realized he was being held on either side by a couple of people. Starting to panic, he slowly turned to look at the one at his right. He let out a small gasp of disbelief when he realized that the "person" to his right wasn't a "person" at all, but a "Pokemon".

_HOLYSHIT!_ Josh screamed in his head once he was sure his eyes weren't deceiving him, _Gods high and low, please tell me I didn't just bang some random pokemon!_ He then came to the realization that the pokemon he was looking at was a Ninetales, and that the "blanket" covering him were it's tails. _Aaaaand its a fucking Ninetales! Silverfur's going to roast my ass! Wait a minute..._ This Ninetales' mane was overly large. _Oh gods, its Blaze! I'm so fu-_

{Mhnmmmm...}

The mumble from his other side reminded Josh that there was someone to his left as well. _Wait, if this is Blaze over here, then that means..._ He turned to look at the Lucario at his left. _Paw... Great, I fucked both of his daughters, and now he's gonna make it slow and painful! Why do you do this to yourself, Joshua? WHY?_

Josh lay there for a few minutes, cursing his heart out silently when he realized something: He was fully clothed. A quick pat down of himself proved this to be true. _Josh, you stupid motherfucker!_ he scolded himself, _Clothes should be the first thing you check! If you had done that first you would've saved yourself a ton of- You know what? Yelling at myself isn't getting anything done._ Josh looked over himself once again. _Might as well get my day started, no way I'm getting back to sleep now._ With that, Josh set himself to wriggling out of the sisters' grip, eventually freeing himself ten minutes latter.

After doing his morning stretches and smiling down at his sleeping best friends, Josh turned around to find Silverfur sitting on one of the boulders that ringed the clearing, looking quite amused. _Great, he must've been listening to my thoughts the whole time..._

_Yep,_ the old fox's voice rang in the human's head, _Found them quite interesting too. Do you always swear so much?_ Ignoring the comment, Josh simply took several steps away from the trees and sat down to get started on breakfast.

#####

Shieldpaw woke up to the smell of her favorite breakfast food: bacon. Smiling as the delicious smell passed through her nose, she slowly blinked her eyes open. It was definitely morning, based on the lighting, and Swiftblaze must still be sleeping because the Lucario still had what felt like a blanket draped over her. She sat up slowly and stretched, causing her sister's tails to slide off of her upper half, then traced her chest-crescent out of habit.

The Lucario still didn't understand why she hadn't evolved normally, but in truth she found that she liked having the crescent more than she imagined she would a spike. After all, she didn't have to worry about stabbing someone when she hugged them, and the crescent never got in the way of her guitar when she played like a spike would've. Then there was the fact it made her stand out amongst other Lucario, so she could always tell if any image was about her or not. If only it could grab the attention of-

"Hey, Paw! You hungry?"

Josh. Just thinking about the human made her heart flutter, although she didn't know quite why. Maybe it was how kind he was to her, or the way he was always making sure she was comfortable with a new song before announcing it in their next gig, or the way he cooked her favorite foods, or it was the daily sparring matches he insisted on doing even though he always lost. There were simply were many good points about him for her to _not_ lo-

"Paw?"

Josh's voice crashed her train of thought once again, this time getting her to look at him, and wave a paw before standing up and walking over. She may be head-over-heels for him, but she never let it show while he was watching, barring the daydreams she entertained herself with every now and again.

_Smells good,_ She commented telepathically for Josh's benefit, the human not having the ability to understand poke-speak.

"Thanks, but your dad supplied the fire." Josh replied, gesturing to the smiling silver fox, "I forgot my flint and steel."

_It's not a problem, just be sure that I get some of that meat too._

"Don't worry about that," the human chuckled, "If worse comes to worse I'll go forgo the bacon for jerky just to make sure you're satisfied."

_Then you might want to get that out, because I can assure you I'll be taking you up on that offer. Bacon is one of those things no sane person would pass up._

"Too true," Josh laughed, "So how'd you sleep, Paw?"

_Good, you?_ Shieldpay answered, hoping to fine out how he managed to find sleep.

"I ended up having to use that whistle that Leif made me."

_Whistle?_

"Yeah, this thing." He tossed a small whistle made of grass over to her, "Just don't play unless you want to fall asleep again."

_Ah, a Pokemon's grass whistle,_ Silverfur reminisced after a glance at it, _Puts anyone who hears it to sleep. Had a few Nuzleaf that wouldn't stop using them a few decades back. Ended up running them out with a few birds just so we could stay awake!_

"Birds?"

_Yeah, birds. They seemed to wake up much faster than everybody else._

"Ah," Josh looked back to the frying meat, "Looks about done. Paw, could you get Blaze up so she doesn't miss out? I would but-" He was cut off as Silverfur slammed into him, trying to get at the meat. Shieldpaw watched the ensuing game of "Keep-Away" for a minute or so before getting up to wake her sister.

_Dad can be such a Vulpix sometimes..._

#####

Breakfast turned out to be quite the event for Josh, who constantly had to keep Silverfur at bay while trying to get Swiftblaze and Shieldpaw some of the bacon, which proved to be quite the task. He ended up having to throw the tasty strips of meat at his friends and hope the silver fox didn't get at the frying-pan in the process, which was near impossible for the human. By the end of the "meal" they were all winded, with Josh having to eat only jerky because Silverfur had eaten over half of the fatty strips of goodness. Despite this, all were in good spirits when they set out for Pyre City, Josh's hometown.

Pyre City wasn't a city back when Josh grew up, it was a small town. A tourist town, to be precise. Because Mt. Pyre was laced with long abandoned crypts many a trainer showed up for adventure, so a group of people settled to try and capitalize off of them. The town had been growing slowly until roughly five years ago, when _Reverb_ gained regional attention, then there were thousands flocking to the place. There were those who simply wanted to see where Josh grew up, those who believed their talents were provided by the "magic" of the crypts and to "investigate" (be enchanted by) it, those who simply hadn't heard of the place before and were curious, and those who wanted to catch a Ninetales or Vulpix. (That last group had the worst of luck getting what they wanted, although a few succeeded in befriending them.)

It was around midday when the city finally came into view in the south, and while all were hungry, nobody wanted to try to eat at one of it's many food joints. Instead they angled east, away from the city, towards Josh's old home. Roughly an hour latter they found themselves looking at the front gates of the Auron estate.

_I didn't think there would be quite so many people waiting here,_ Silverfur commented, finding himself staring at the throng of people clamoring at the gates, thinking Josh was inside.

"Neither did I," Josh whispered in reply, not wanting to draw the attention of the crowd just yet. They looked like they'd tear him apart. _And that's why we don't announce our presence while walking down the street..._

_So, how are you going to get us inside?_ Silverfur asked Josh, not looking away from the people.

"The way we normally do," The blue haired boy responded, looking at his band-mates, "You guys ready?"

_Always,_ The sisters replied in unison, smiling at him.

"Alright! Silverfur, just follow our lead." With that Josh simply walked out into the open, his band-mates on either side of him. Silverfur stared at them for a moment in surprise, but quickly recovered and fell in step behind. Once the group was a fair distance away from the trees Josh did the one thing Silverfur couldn't possibly see coming, he whistled.

Within seconds the crowd war rushing over to greet them all at once, tripping over each other to try and make it to them first. Josh shot a grin at the oncoming mob, then suddenly broke off in a sprint to his right with Shieldpaw while Swiftblaze ran to the left, calling for her father to follow. After a moment's hesitation, he did.

The crowd obviously hadn't been expecting this and kept on running towards the place the four had been only moments before. By the time the majority had turned around Josh was already on top of the gate with the pokemon on the other side.

"Sorry, no time for autographs!" He said cheerily as he dropped down, pressing a button to electrify the walls, just to make sure they didn't climb over like he had.

{I just don't get some humans,} Silverfur commented as the crowd rushed to the gates once again, {I think several of them got trampled during that stampede...}

{Some _humans_ don't get humans either, dad.} Swiftblaze pointed out with a dismissive flick of her tails, glancing at Josh. {I find that there's only a few you can understand.}

{Good thing we're with one of them...} Shieldpaw replied, blushing at the blue-haired human that was leading them into his home.


	3. Chapter 3  Love and Luxury

"Can't you wait to wipe the floor with me 'till _after_ I've given Silverfur the grand tour?" Joshed asked the Ursaring looming before him. They had just left Josh's "grand" entrance-room to find the big bear waiting in the middle of the hallway with his arms crossed over its furry chest.

{Nope,} The great bear replied, shaking his head "No" to get the message across the the human.

"Alright then," Josh fake-sighed, smiling directly afterward, "Lets g-"

_Wait. You mean to tell me you're going to fight an Ursaring?_ Silverfur interjected, not believing the 19-year-old was stupid enough to do so.

"Yep," The boy replied as if it were no big deal.

_He does it at least once a week, dad,_ Shieldpaw pointed out, smiling.

_He does?_ The old fox replied, caught off-guard.

_Yep,_ Swiftblaze agreed, also smiling. _Normally breaks something every other time, too._

_And how is it that he's not bedridden right now?_

"Regen chambers," Josh answered, "They can heal just about any clean breaks in an couple hours."

_I thought regen chambers were Pokemon only._

"Naw, now they work on humans too, just not as well as Pokemon. If they didn't I wouldn't spar with _any_ pokemon, _especially_ not Major."

{Yeah, I've been the cause of more breaks than anyone else he tussles with,} The Ursaring added.

_And you're proud of that?_ Silverfur asked.

{Maybe a little,} The bear admitted before turning around to leading the way though the mansion.

Five minutes later, and Josh was warming up opposite of Major in the mansion's vast backyard with roughly twenty feet of grass separating them. Unlike the backyards of most celebrities, Josh's contained no pools, jacuzzis, hot-tubs, sport fields, garages or machinery of any kind. Instead, Josh had a rather plain field that ran seamlessly into the mountain forests that were located behind with no indication of boundaries or barriers, making it feel more like a clearing with a rather large house in it than a mansion with a forested yard. Silverfur and his daughters sat in the shade of a tree to Josh's left-

{Go dad!}

-with Major's cub(who was aptly named Minor) eating some berries gathered from nearby bushes.

Major smirked with confidence at his son's cheer, he had never once lost to Josh, although the human had gotten close the past couple times. Deciding he was limber as he was ever going to get, the bear assumed a battle-stance.

{You ready?}

In response, Josh flung off his jacket and tugged off his shirt, causing Shieldpaw to blush inwardly and smile. Silverfur, on the other hand, took to studying the human's build. Josh was thin, as Silverfur had noted when he first re-met him, but unlike yesterday the fox could now see that the boy possessed a well-toned and moderately muscled body. _Good to see the kid's been keeping in shape,_ he commented to himself as the two combatants began to circle each other. _Too bad he's not a Pokemon, at least then he would have a fighting chance._

The bear and the human circled each other for a few moments, both waiting for the other to make a move, before Josh suddenly rushed Major, catching him off guard. Two swift punches to the abdomen later saw Josh falling onto his back to avoid a great furry arm to the head, after which he quickly rolled backwards twice to get back to his feet a safer distance away.

WHAM!

The human was sent sprawling as Major's shoulder connected with his chest as soon as he was upright. Note to those who are foolish enough to try and fight an Ursaring: They'll tank though just about anything you throw at them.

{Like I said, the kid's got no-} Silverfur began, cutting himself off as Josh regained his footing and hurled his relatively small frame towards the Ursaring's much larger one, who decided to charge at that moment. Somehow the human flew over his opponent's shoulder and managed to hook an arm around his neck to use the momentum to topple them both over.

{You were saying?} Shieldpaw asked smugly as her father's eyes widened at the display.

{Okay, he might just be able to pull this off...} The fox conceded, glancing over at Swiftblaze to find her staring at the fight hungrily. _Never seen her look at something like that before..._

#####

As fate would have it, the battle lasted for roughly twenty minutes, ending with a draw. It technically could be said Major won, he idid/I knock out Josh, but the bear fainted from exhaustion not even a full minute afterwards. Josh was currently in a regeneration chamber, having gotten several ribs broken from the winning blow, and Major was in his room (yes, he has his own room) sleeping off his bruises.

{I'm still having trouble understanding how he managed to wear Major out like that,}Silverfur was saying over a lunch of fried Magicarp. {Did the guy not sleep well enough or something?}

{Naw, Dad slept great last night,} Minor replied, staring at the fish in front of the fox. {You going to eat that?}

{Yes, yes I am,} The clan leader replied, glaring at the little bear. {You've eaten enough, now go bug someone else: I'm trying to enjoy my meal.}

{Awww...} The cub whined before stalking off to his father's room.

{Aren't you being a little hard on the kid?} Shieldpaw chuckled as Minor left.

{You know how I am when I'm hungry, Paw,} He replied, ripping off some of the fish and swallowing it whole. {Still I'd like to know how the kid did it.}

{Maybe he's a fighting type?} She joked.

{I'm serious, Paw.}

{He's got a feel for Major's fighting style, dad, along with an Ursaring's weaknesses,} Swiftblaze explained, spitting out a bone. (If Major hadn't caught him in the chest with his paw Josh would've landed a brutal kick just under his ribs, which would've ended it right there.}

{Ended it how? Josh hit him there several times before.}

{Those were just to soften the area up so that kick would diaphragm him. Then while Major was gasping for breath he would've gotten him in the back of the head with the same kick, sealing victory for himself.}

{Ah.}

The rest of the meal passed in relative silence, with the next conversation springing up after everyone had finished.

{Well, so far he seems to be a suitable mate, Paw.} Silverfur began, standing up. {If the kid can pull off a draw with an Ursaring then is certain he's got quite a lot of potential, and as far as I've seen right now he's got a good attitude to match.)

{Good to hear he's doing well so far,) Shieldpaw replied with a smile and a hint of a blush.

{Blaze,} He turned to his eldest daughter. {Who was your pick? I don't think your mother and I asked after the commotion over Shieldpaw last night.)

{I...} Swiftblaze closed her eyes and bowed her head in thought. {I don't know...}

{Well, tell me when you do, ok?} Her father replied gently. {There's no rush.)

{I will, Dad,} The Ninetales promised, looking discouraged.

{Come on, Blaze,} Shieldpaw put an comforting arm around her sister, {I know what will cheer you up.}

#####

{Yah need a reason to believe

A reason to deceive

A reason for the song you're singing}

{And everything you do

makes perfect sense to you

So why is your alarm bell ringing?}

Sheildpaw and Swiftblaze were in the designated group practice room, jamming out to "Love and Luxury" by KoRn, taking turns singing the lyrics while playing their respective instruments, having a blast in the process. KoRn always cheered them up.

{You say you know how it feels inside of me

Lost and alone with no love or luxury

Come on inside and hear the silence constantly judging me

Don't you think you should move on?}

Silverfur had never actually heard his daughters play before, so it came as a total shock to see them just pick up their instruments and just play as if were nothing. He was particularly interested in how Swiftblaze played her drums, beating on the thin drum membranes and plates of metal that were cymbals with her tails like no tomorrow. _Kinda looks fun..._

{Yah need a way to get along

A way to carry on

A symptom for the pain you're making}

{And surely you should know

That everywhere you go

There's acid in the words your thinking.}

The silver fox was completely sold on this music they were playing now. _Maybe I could learn..._

{You say you know how it feels inside of me

Lost and alone with no love or luxury

Come on inside and hear the silence constantly judging me

Don't you think you should move on?}


End file.
